A $165 million student housing project at UCI will add 1,065 beds for continuing undergraduate students, with rents projected to be about 34% below market rates.
The project, funded through a public-private partnership, is part of UCI’s broader effort to expand campus housing amid growing student demand.
UCI’s long-term development plan calls for housing 60% of its student population on campus. The university currently has about 18,000 beds and plans to increase that to 22,000.
The university broke ground on two, six-
The university broke ground on two, six- to seven-story apartment buildings on the east side of campus. The units will serve sophomores, juniors and seniors, who generally do not have a housing guarantee beyond their initial two years.
The university guarantees housing for undergraduates for first-year and transfer students who live on campus the entire academic year. Certain graduate students, including those pursuing PhD and Master of Fine Arts degrees, also receive housing guarantees.
“Although we are able to support our current guarantee, we still have a waitlist for what we consider continuing students who are not in the guaranteed category,” Brice Kikuchi, associate vice chancellor of student affairs at UCI, told the Business Journal.
The project is expected to open in fall
The project is expected to open in fall 2028, increasing capacity to campus apartments, which UCI said are operating at 99.8% occupancy.
UCI estimates it has added approximately 5,800 new beds over the past decade.
The housing expansion comes as rents in the surrounding area remain high. At University Town Center across the street from UCI, monthly rents average $1,875 for one-bedroom apartments and up to $5,000 for three-bedroom units, according to real estate platform RentHop.
Rents Projected Below Market Rates
Monthly rents for the new units are projected to range from $982 to $2,017, about 34% below apartment rents within a 1.5-mile radius of the university, according to 2025-26 UCI rent data.
The project prioritizes housing capacity over extensive amenities, with study rooms and common areas.
We’re seeing various volatility in construction costs, so
“We’re seeing various volatility in construction costs, so just building beds really makes this project more affordable for student rent,” Kikuchi said.
UCI is partnering with Collegiate Housing Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that helps universities finance, construct and operate student housing. Under the agreement, the foundation will lease the land from the university and own the project. American Campus Communities will manage the property.
The project is financed through tax-exempt bonds, allowing the development to be funded through a separate financing structure rather than relying on solely on university capital.
The California Statewide Communities Development Authority announced
The California Statewide Communities Development Authority announced on Oct. 22 announced that it had issued $191.5 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds for the project.
Once the bonds are fully repaid through project revenue, ownership of the housing transfers to UCI.
Phase Five of East Campus Development
The project marks the fifth phase of UCI’s east campus housing development.
The first phase, dubbed Vista del Campo, opened
The first phase, dubbed Vista del Campo, opened in 2004. The university later added Vista del Campo Norte, Camina del Sol and Puerto del Sol.
The fourth included Plaza Verde, which opened 2019 with 1,400 beds for continuing students, followed by Plaza Verde II in 2023 with 1,077 additional beds.
“It was our first attempt at a higher density type of product,” Kikuchi said.
Phase five will occupy two sites near the Puerta del Sol apartments along Campus Drive in a vacant office building and a surface parking lot.
If the university decides to pursue additional housing, Kikuchi said it will consider infill development or redeveloping older, lower-density housing. Some of UCI’s oldest facilities date to 1965.
